The Legend of Foxfeather: A Warrior Cats Story

Chapter 6

"My name is Foxpaw." "Hello Foxpaw" Gemini mewed, smiling at the young kit. "So you must be the Forestclan cat that Midnight foud on patrol." "Yes. That's me." "Are you going to be staying here for a while?" asked Gemini. "I-I'm not sure." "Well I hope you have a good time here if you do." As Gemini was about to get up to leave, Foxpaw jumped up in a hurry. She didn't want to be left alone with Silky while she was still in her laughing fit (Who knew how long it would last!), and she wanted to ask Gemini about the feather behind her ear. "Wait!" she cried. "Yes?" said Gemini, as she turned around. "I wanted to know about that feather in your fur. What's it for?" "Oh this? This is a feather I got from a huge hawk that I killed when it was about to nab a kit from our nursery." "Did it hurt to get it twisted in?" asked Foxpaw. "Oh yes." responded Gemini. "But if I could take down a hawk and endure that much pain just for a little beauty, imagine how ferocious I could be in battle." Gemini said, flexing her claws. "That's really cool!" Foxpaw said. "Do you think I could get a feather like that?" "Sure!" said Gemini. "I could take you on a hunting patrol once you heal, and I could help you take down a hawk! In the meantime, I have a few extra feathers in my den. You could pick one you like, and I could teach you how to twist it in." "That's really cool! Thanks Gemini!" mewed Foxpaw, jumping up and down with excitement." "No problem! Now if my timing is right, I think it's time for our little patrol!" Gemini said, just as Pumpkin padded in with two toms. One was black as a raven, while the other was an orangish gold color. "Are you ready Foxpaw?" Pumpkin asked. "Yep!" mewed Foxpaw. "This is Midnight and Dusk. Midnight here is my mate and deputy, and Dusk is one of our newer warriors. He is just a few moons older than you, but he is a very strong warrior. They are the cats that will be accompanying us on our patrol." Foxpaw looked at the cats with wonder. Midnight's pelt was glossy, and almost looked as if it was made of raven feathers, while Dusk's looked as if he were made of orange leaves, dipped in the glow of a fading sun. Midnight's neon green eyes seemed to pierce straight through Foxpaw's pelt, while Dusk's light yellow ones, looked at her with curiosity. When Midnight walked over to pick her up, Foxpaw noticed that he wasn't entirely black. He had faint swirls in his fur that were an extremely dark gray. They were so dark and hard to see, that you had to be a few inches away to catch a glimpse of them, but they were there nonetheless. Once Midnight had Foxpaw's scruff in his mouth, he carried her out of the den, with Pumpkin, Dusk, and Gemini following him. The den they had just come out was made of several bushes grown close together. It looked like some cat had cleverly braided some of the branches and leaves together, adding mud and cobwebs here and there to keep the den insulated. There were several other dens scattered around the clearing, with a large rock in the center. The rock had two holes. One in the side, and one closer to the top. There was a bush close against the rock on the side opposite from the hole on the bottom. The holes in the rock were both partly covered by moss and vines. There was a small, but swift moving stream that crossed through the middle of the camp, and seemed to pass straight through the large rock. As Foxpaw and the others walked towards a tunnel of undergrowth that seemingly led out of the camp, she noticed another small hole in the rock, also covered in moss and vines. Pumpkin had just reached the entrance to the tunnel, when they heard a voice, yowling from behind them. "Wait! Wait up!" Midnight swiveled around, and Foxpaw saw who had called after them. It was Silky! As the young she-cat approached, Pumpkin padded over to her. "Silky." she said in a firm voice. "What are you doing?" "I'm coming on the patrol with you!" Silky meowed, cheerfully. Midnight dropped Foxpaw at Gemini's paws, and padded over to stand by Pumpkin. "No you aren't." He growled. "You were to stay in the camp, and continue your training with Spruce." "But Spruce said I could go on patrol with you!" Silky argued. "He said I need to work on tracking, and that this would be the perfect opportunity to learn other clans scents, so I can track better!" "Well we don't have the time to train with you." Said Midnight. "If Spruce wants you to learn scents, he should come and teach you himself." As they were talking, Foxpaw noticed a slender light-gray she-cat come walking with a young apprentice at her side. Her apprentice was also gray, but darker, with swirls of even darker gray on his sides and underbelly. What surprised Foxpaw the most, was the collar of black leather around his neck. It had metal spikes encircling the entire collar, and dangling by his chest, was a little piece of metal that looked like a cat skull. The collar looked a bit big, so he probably would be able to still wear it once he was full grown. "Who are they?" Foxpaw asked Pumpkin. "That's Storm and her apprentice Skeletor. Skeletor is around the same age as you. I think you'd make good friends." As Pumpkin told Foxpaw about the two cats, Foxpaw watched while the young tom muttered something to his mentor, and trotted over towards her. "H-Hi." said Foxpaw. "Hello! I'm Skeletor. I haven't seen you around. Are you new?" "Ummm.. No I'm from Forestclan." Foxpaw mewed. "I was hurt by a dog, and Midnight found me and brought me here. We're about to go on a patrol to let my clan know what happened to me and decide if I'm well enough to go home." "A real clan cat! Wow!'' Skeletor mewed, his eyes widening. "I've never met a real clan cat before! I bet you have a bunch of fun in the forest. I mean I know it's probably hard to survive with the fighting between the clans and the twolegs messing up everything and all that, but it seems pretty cool being trained to be a real warrior cat with the warrior code and everything. Sometimes I wish I was born a clan cat. I want to see what it's really like, running through the forest, hunting real prey, and just being free." Foxpaw cocked her head to the side in confusement. "But you do live in the forest. And there's fresh kill, and even though your little clan doesn't have any real warriors because it doesn't follow the warrior code, you still have mentors and apprentices, and a medicine cat and all that." "Yes but..." "Foxy!" Skeletor and Foxpaw whipped their heads around at the sound of Silky's voice. "Oh hi Skeletor!" Silky said, running over to the two young apprentices. "I see you've met Skelly." She said, turning towards Foxpaw. "He's a bit weird, but really nice once you get to know him." "Uuuuuuuum... You DO realize that I'm standing RIGHT. HERE.''

While Skeletor and Foxpaw had been talking, Silky had ran off to get her mentor, Spruce. Spruce was a skinny tom, who was white with brown spots, and forest green eyes. "Silky! Foxpaw!" Midnight mewed. It's time to go! We have to meet with Foxpaw's clan!" Silky immediately got up and padded over to the 4 cats. "By Skeletor!" Foxpaw said as she got up. "See you 'round!" He mewed. Once Skeletor left, Midnight went over to pick up Foxpaw and began to walk towards the Forestclan border. As they walked, Foxpaw noticed that Midnight who was at the front of the group, kept flicking his ears as if he had heard something and was trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Pumpkin and Dusk were simply chatting behind them, though Dusk kept sneaking glances at Foxpaw when he thought she wasn't looking. Spruce and Silky were lagging behind, but only because Spruce was teaching Silky different scents. All of a sudden Midnight dropped Foxpaw, and stood over her in a protective stance. At this, all the other cats grew silent and stood in defensive positions once they saw Midnight's ears flatten against his head. "I smell Caveclan." Midnight hissed. Foxpaw sniffed the air, trying to get a scent, but all she could smell was the scent of Midnight's fur. As she looked around, she thought she caught a glimpse of orange fur streak through the bushes. Midnight pushed her into the middle of cats, in a protective stance all around her. Foxpaw strained her eyes, trying to catch another glimpse of the orange fur. Scanning the brush around them, she saw a familiar pair of glinting green eyes. "Flamepaw!" she thought, widening her eyes in surprise. Looking around to make sure that none of the other cats were watching her, she flicked her tail in warning to the other cat. The eyes then disappeared and Foxpaw sighed in relief. Her friend was safe. After a few more moments, Midnight relaxed and the tight formation around Foxpaw was released. "I don't think there are any cats around here but us." Midnight mewed. "Let's continue the patrol. I plan to make it to the border around falling sun."

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Hey readers! I would like to again say that I am thinking about abandoning this work. It hasn't been really all that successful and i don't have the time to put into something that isn't faring that well. I am planning on writing other books and hopefully those will be more successful than this. It breaks my heart to not let this story go but if nobody is going to read it then I don't see the point. I plan on updating more often now as to the fact I will have more time during this quarantine. If you have stuck with me this far and enjoy this work, than comment down below. I love all my readers and if this story gets enough likes I will be accepting OCs and working them into the story. Anybody willing to let me add their OC, will get full credit, just let me know their pelt color, eye color, fur length, personality, size, rank, etc. I love you all and please comment and like! 

- The_Real_Annabeth